The invention relates to a method for filling a reactor with one or more homogeneous beds of solid particles, particularly catalyst particles.
In general, in the application of reaction systems in which liquids and/or gases are passed over a particulate catalyst, it is normally important that the catalyst particles are present in one or more homogeneous beds. By "homogeneous bed" is meant a bed having a uniform packing and an arbitrary orientation of the catalyst particles. Homogeneous beds are advantageous, in that a regular flow through the catalyst bed and an optimum degree of wetting of catalyst particles by the reaction mixture are obtained. Moreover, no reaction mixture leaves the reactor without having contacted the catalyst, or after too brief a contact period.
Difficult as the filling of relatively small reactors with a homogeneous bed of catalyst particles (usually consisting of small cylinders) is, it can be carried out by pouring the catalyst particles carefully, or by introducing a slurry of the catalyst particles in a liquid, into the reactor. However, much greater problems arise when large reactors (for example, cylindrical reactors having a diameter exceeding 2 meters and a height exceeding 10 meters) have to be filled with one or more homogeneous beds of catalyst particles. Large reactors of this type can be used, for example, in processes for the hydrodesulfurization of mineral oil fractions, in particular of crude mineral oil or residues obtained by removing at least part of the volatile products from a crude mineral oil. The invention solves the problems associated with filling such reactors, and provides a method by which a reactor can be filled in a suitable manner with one or more homogeneous beds of solid particles, particularly catalyst particles.